RainWings
RainWings are a peaceful tribe of Pyrrhian dragons that currently live in the Rainforest Kingdom. They are able to spit deadly black venom from their front fangs, move through the rainforest quickly and gracefully by swinging from their tails, and can change the colors of their scales. They may change them intentionally to whichever colors they please, but when they aren't paying attention they will either instinctively match their emotions or their surroundings. They were originally ruled by the RainWing royal family, as the rest of the Pyrrhian tribes are, but all of Queen Grandeur's heirs were unworthy for the throne. As a result, Queen Grandeur merged her tribe's eggs in hope of finding a suitable future heir. However, the plan proved unsuccessful, as although Grandeur did find heirs, none of them were even decently fit for the RainWing throne. She decided that the best that she could do was to put the queens who auditioned for the position on a monthly rotation so that each "queen" would get one month each in their cycle to have a turn to rule. RainWings tend to be pacifistic and do not tend to rush into fights, as shown when the NightWings attacked them, though they likely have not always been this way. Instead of having a palace like most tribes, the queen resides in an ordinary-sized hut usually decorated with flowers which other dragons can visit her in. They will line up and wait when they wanted to talk to the queen about something. Although RainWings are peaceful dragons (for now), there could have been a time where RainWings were at war with another tribe, due to Grandeur hinting to Glory that she remembers when they used their camouflage to hide from enemies. In Darkstalker (Legends), Queen Lagoon said, "If we find another animus in the tribe, that would make us twice as powerful, which would be quite useful given how the MudWings and RainWings have been behaving lately," implying that they once weren't the lazy tribe they are now, though Glory and other RainWings have proven that not all current RainWings are "lazy." Description A RainWing's scales will change color according to their mood, whether the want that color or not. Although they can stamp it out, they have a hard time stopping them from coming through, but all current RainWings don't mind having their feelings on display, with the exception of Queen Glory. RainWings also change color when they want to camouflage themselves or show off. They are never left remaining monochromatic (except in the place of Chameleon, a RainWing who was hatched unable to change the color of his scales due to a snout deformity, which makes them stay lime green). However, their scales usually shift between colors, depending on their mood. A RainWing can stamp out all emotion before it "splatters out all over their scales", as said by Queen Glory. Any RainWing, including Tamarin, a blind RainWing, can control their scales. RainWings also change their scale colors to be as bright and pretty as possible in front other dragons to show off. In Winter Turning, Winter thinks it's "amazing" how RainWing dragonets can change their scale color and match Winter and Qibli's when they are less than one year old. They can't change the color of their eyes. The sun is needed to make a RainWing's scales beautiful and vivid (and to keep them in a agreeable, peaceful mood), so sometime around noon when the sun is at its highest each day, every RainWing takes a nap, or "sun time". If they do not get this sun time, then their scales are not as vibrant. In addition to making them better at camouflage and color changing, sun time also makes a RainWing less grumpy and gives them more energy, like a lizard basking in the sun. (As we learn from Clay in The Dragonet Prophecy, sun time without sun has few benefits on a dragon's mood.) RainWings are long and graceful, with a ruff behind their ears and prehensile tails that are used primarily for climbing trees and hanging in the rainforest they inhabit. When afraid or insulted, RainWings flare their ruffs, possibly as a defense tactic, to seem bigger or to scare away others, similar to that of the frilled lizard. RainWing dragonets develop their color-shifting scales while they're still in their eggs, which are a smooth white in color, not rainbow as depicted in The Dragonet Prophecy (Graphic Novel). Abilities RainWings can alter the color of their scales to mimic objects (such as tree frogs or pearls), their surroundings, other dragons, or simply to suit their preference. A RainWing's colors may also change if they feel a particularly strong emotion, such as pale green or white for fear or pain, purple for guilt, yellow for amusement, pink for happiness, emerald for displeasure, red and black for anger, grey for sadness, blue for calm. Sunlight "recharges" their scales, making them better at camouflage, as well as giving them energy and making them happier and supposedy smarter. RainWings also have prehensile tails much like chameleons to grip onto trees. They swing from tree to tree, called "tree gliding" to move about over long distances, as vines and branches would make normal flying difficult. RainWing dragonets take tree gliding lessons (as well as other things). RainWings have a venom which has effects closely related to Hydrofluoric Acid (eating away at flesh), which can be shot from their two longest fangs. Their venom melts away at dragon scales easily, and unless nullified with flame (or the venom of a relative to counteract the venom), the venom will kill the victim with alarming speed if the droplets land in the eyes or bloodstream. However, landing on normal scales you may survive, (for example, Ex-Queen Scarlet and Vengeance). Furthermore, RainWing venom only affects living things such as leaves or flowers, and cannot affect inorganic objects such as rocks or metal. Sometimes, though, if only a small amount of venom comes in contact with another dragon, it can brutally scar their scales and leave them disfigured instead of killing them completely. RainWing venom is very painful when contacted, much like acid. As each dragon's heritage is somewhat fuzzy, before mating, two RainWings will spray their venom on leaves or other plant matter to see if they are related. A RainWing's venom will neutralize their relative's venom, whereas an unrelated dragon's venom will cause the target to dissolve faster. RainWing venom is black. When it hits hard ground, it will, after some time, dry into hard glossy droplets, similar to obsidian. While spitting their venom, RainWings fully open (unhinge) their mouth, much like a snake. According to NightWing research, the older a dragon, the farther they can shoot. However, RainWings think that it only involves practice. Society RainWings are seen as lazy and unintelligent due to their tendency to lay around in the sun, although the sun's rays have a positive effect on their bodies, making them prettier, smarter, more positive, and even less hungry. They appear to have a carefree society with almost no conflict; there is plenty of food, so they have no reason to fight. The adults don't even bother to watch the eggs, as demonstrated when Webs stole one to become the fifth dragonet of the prophecy. The RainWings all care for the dragonets together and drop by the hatcheries once every few days to pick up any new dragonets. RainWings have had several different ways of becoming queen over time. In older times, RainWings fought for the throne like any other tribe, and later, they developed a nonviolent competition, with some of the activities being racing, or hiding. Finally, the RainWings decided to take turns being queen. Any female in the Tribe who wished to become queen could for a period of one month. In The Hidden Kingdom, they say that the dragons with the most sparkly names are most likely to become queen. After Glory became queen via the non-violent competition, this recent tradition appears to have vanished from the RainWing society. RainWings rarely left the rainforest. They had no scrolls, could not read, could barely count, and knew very little about the other dragon tribes or of the rest of Pyrrhia until Queen Glory began a dragonet school there. However, it can be assumed that it was not always that way, since according to a quote from Queen Lagoon suggests that they were once a militarious tribe, and weren't always clueless about what happened outside their kingdom or the other dragon tribes, since they posed a threat to the SeaWings along with the MudWings at the time. The RainWings and MudWings may have been allies at that time since they had a common goal. In Darkness of Dragons, it is revealed that while Winter was away in the Ice Kingdom Moon and Qibli found a very old scroll written by a RainWing, proving that they could read and write a long time ago. It is unknown why and how they lost this knowledge and that of the other tribes. They have crude blowguns, loaded with darts coated in tree-frog poison. They are used for playing games or when strange dragons wander into the forest. The darts they used seem to immediately render the target dragon unconscious, although sometimes the effect takes a minute or two to set in, as shown with Icicle. During the attack on the Night Kingdom, Queen Glory had the RainWings use them as weapons for knocking out opponents, as most of the RainWings would have been opposed to using their venom to kill another dragon. They later made an agreement with the NightWings and allowed them to live in the forest, though (at first) they would not permit Mastermind, a NightWing scientist, to live alongside them. RainWings also keep and take great care of pet sloths, while the pets from other tribes are usually eaten or lost by mistake. This shows RainWings can be both caring and soft, and further highlighting their peaceful nature. When sloths climb on the back of a sleeping RainWing, that means they have been "chosen" and can then keep that sloth as a loving, loyal pet forever. Even Glory was "chosen" by a sloth which she at first refused to love, but then gave up and named it Silver. In Winter Turning, it was revealed that NightWing dragonets play with RainWing dragonets in the hatchery. This might prove useful to the future of those kingdoms as also in that book it is shown that older NightWings hate the RainWings, this contrast is probably the result of not being raised among RainWings. It is hinted that they were once militaristic in Darkstalker (Legends). After Darkstalker leaves, the RainWings begin to sort out families, for many purposes, including venom, as well as more obvious reasons such as plain curiosity. The RainWing Royal Challenge The RainWings have developed a custom of challenging their queen for the throne that does not end in death, unlike the other dragon tribes. This method requires the current queen to pick a contest or multiple contests, and she and the challenger compete for the throne. The victor becomes the queen. Names For names, RainWings tend to name their dragonets after rainforest animals, such as Kinkajou or Tamarin, plants, such as Jambu, Mangrove, or Orchid, and physical descriptions, such as Exquisite, Dazzling, Glory, or Magnificent. In The Hidden Kingdom, ''Kinkajou states that they cycle through a list that they have to name dragonets, and when they finished the list they start over again, revealing that some dragonets may have the same names as each other. Known RainWings * Queen Anaconda * Banana * Boto * Bright * Bromeliad * Bullfrog * Chameleon * Coconut * Dazzling * Exquisite * Firefly (also half NightWing) * Fruit Bat * Gibbon * Queen Glory * Grandeur * Handsome * Heliconia * Prince Jambu * Kinkajou * Liana * Loris * Magnificent * Mango * Mangrove * Orangutan * Orchid * Peacemaker (also half NightWing) * Siamang * Splendor * Tamarin * Tapir * Tualang Students at Jade Mountain * Boto * Coconut * Kinkajou * Siamang * Tamarin Colors to Moods * Red: Angry * Orange: Irritated, Frustrated * Gold: Happy, Excited * Yellow: Amused, Surprised, Pleased * Green: Worried, Displeased, Annoyed * Dark green: Distressed * Pale Green: Fearful, Terrified * Acid Green: Shock, Disbelief * Blue: Calm, Curious * Light Blue: Sad * Indigo: Proud, Determined * Orangey Purple: Confused * Dark purple: Shameful, Guilty * Violet: Awed, Prideful * Lavender: Delighted * Pink-Rose: Joyful, Happy, In Love * Light Pink-Rose: Embarrassed * White: In Pain, Sick * Dark Gray: Sorrowful * Blue-Gray: Depressed, Despairing * Brown: Stressed * Black: Upset, Hatred Trivia * RainWing venom can be counteracted/cancelled out by the venom of a blood relative. * If a dragon is targeted and is hit in the eyes, or the venom enters the bloodstream, the dragon would be killed within minutes, according to Mastermind. However, if it only hits the scales, the dragon may live but will be left horribly disfigured and scarred, some examples of this being Vengeance and Ex-Queen Scarlet. * RainWing venom only affects living things, as proved in ''The Dark Secret and mentioned in The Hidden Kingdom by Kinkajou. * The RainWings' ability to spit venom is believed to be based on that of the spitting cobra. * RainWings cannot change their eye color. Although this is contradicted in the graphic novel, where Glory's eye color changes multiple times, a quote from Tui T. Sutherland proves this. She compares their ability to an invisibility cloak, bending light around them to disappear. However she jokingly "runs away" when the concept of science is brought up.The Dragonet Prophecy Chapter 3 This is shown in The Dragonet Prophecy when Glory changes her scales in the presence of the other dragonets for the first time, her green eyes still show up until she closes them. However, in The Hidden Kingdom, Glory disguises herself as an IceWing and changes her eyes to blue. * Tui has confirmed that RainWings also have accents different from any other tribe since they have been isolated from most tribes. * The oldest known dragon (that hasn't been enchanted to live longer) in the series is Tapir, who lived to be about one hundred and ten years old before starving himself to death in captivity of the NightWings. * RainWings that are deprived of sunlight are grumpier, ruder, and have duller scales, as seen with Glory. * A RainWing named Chameleon has a snout deformity, which prevents him from sleeping for more than an hour at a time. Because of this, he can't change the color of his scales, so his scales constantly stay lime-green. It is unknown if any other RainWings have suffered from this. * When Prince Albatross and Queen Lagoon were alive, RainWings were taken seriously, seen when Lagoon says "If we find another animus in the tribe, that would make us twice as powerful, which would be quite useful given how the MudWings and RainWings have been behaving lately," implying that the RainWings were a threat to SeaWings around that time. As Ex-Queen Grandeur stated, "I remember a time when we had to use our camouflage for survival." ** This also implies that RainWings were once aware of the other dragon tribes and had contact with them before the reign of Queen Glory. * RainWings used to have a royal family, but when Ex-Queen Grandeur did not have any useful heirs, she mixed her eggs with the tribes', saying that she hoped to find RainWings who were "queens in spirit, if not in blood." * Chameleon was the first known RainWing that had possessed animus magic, due to him temporarily owning Darkstalker's Talisman. * It is shown in The Hidden Kingdom that some RainWings can perfectly imitate bird calls. * Tui has said that the base RainWing scale color is a lime green like Chameleon's scales. * RainWings have some knowledge of medicine, as shown in The Hidden Kingdom. * RainWings are the only dragon tribe with knowledge of how to make blow darts and blow guns, which was first known in The Hidden Kingdom. * RainWings used to sell fruit for "high prices" (as described by Clearsight). * In Runaway, RainWings are implied to have once made potions as well. Snowflake bought a sleeping potion from a RainWing to use on Queen Diamond. * Most reptiles in the real world also take part in sunning themselves to maintain energy, much like RainWings do. * Most, if not all RainWings have green eyes. The only known exception is Tamarin, who has pale blue eyes, due to being blind. * Blind Rainwings can still camouflage, however, it is unknown if they can specifically change their scales to look fancy. * RainWing fangs stay in place instead of moving in and out of their gums, making them stick out. * RainWings cannot see in the dark, proved in the Hidden Kingdom when Glory and Tsunami try to catch the dragon kidnapping the RainWings. Gallery Click here to see the gallery. References de:Regenflügler fr:Ailes de Pluie Category:Tribes of Dragons Category:RainWing History Category:Tribes of Pyrrhia